1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of data compression and, more particularly, to a system and techniques for compressing digital motion video signals in keeping with algorithms similar to the emerging MPEG standard proposed by the international Standards Organization's Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).
2. Environment
Technological advances in digital transmission networks, digital storage media, Very Large Scale Integration devices, and digital processing of video and audio signals are converging to make the transmission and storage of digital video economical in a wide variety of applications. Because the storage and transmission of digital video signals is central to many applications, and because an uncompressed representation of a video signal requires a large amount of storage, the use of digital video compression techniques is vital to this advancing art. In this regard, several international standards for the compression of digital video signals have emerged over the past decade, with more currently under development. These standards apply to algorithms for the transmission and storage of compressed digital video in a variety of applications, including: videotelephony and teleconferencing; high quality digital television transmission on coaxial and fiber-optic networks as well as broadcast terrestrially and over direct broadcast satellites; and in interactive multimedia products on CD-ROM, Digital Audio Tape, and Winchester disk drives.
Several of these standards involve algorithms based on a common core of compression techniques, e.g., the CCITT (Consultative Committee on International Telegraphy and Telephony) Recommendation H.120the CCITT Recommendation H.261, and the ISO/IEC MPEG standard. The MPEG algorithm, has been developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), part of a joint technical committee of the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The MPEG committee has been developing a standard for the multiplexed, compressed representation of video and associated audio signals. The standard specifies the syntax of the compressed bit stream and the method of decoding, but leaves considerable latitude for novelty and variety in the algorithm employed in the encoder.
As the present invention may be applied in connection with such an encoder, in order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, some pertinent aspects of the MPEG video compression algorithm will be reviewed. It is to be noted, however, that the invention can also be applied to other video coding algorithms which share some of the features of the MPEG algorithm.